Storage is a major problem in connection with supplying foam orthopedic supports for patients of hospitals and other healthcare facilities due to the bulky nature of such supports. It is difficult to carry the foam supports, for example, upon the already crowded carts which are utilized by nurses and other attendants to supply patients with medication and other needs. It has even been found that patients who would be best treated with foam orthopedic supports are denied their use because of the difficulties in supplying them to the patients.
The most commonly used method of packaging the foam orthopedic supports which have been in use heretofore is through the use of heat shrinkable thermoplastic material. While such material affords an attractive sanitary package, there is little or no reduction in bulk. The prior art relating to the packaging of foam cushions includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,443, but this patent contemplates the use of individual sheets between which the regular shaped foam cushion is sandwiched. The regular shaped foam cushion with the thermoplastic sheets above and below on either side is compressed between press members acting as a bed and a platen. The difficulty is that a seal is required on all sides of the package, and while a uniformly aligned smoothly sealed package is illustrated in the patent, it has been found that from a practical standpoint in commercial packaging involving substantial numbers, such a package is difficult to achieve. Further efforts include those exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,620 wherein an air suction apparatus is used to evacuate the air from a package containing regularly shaped compressible material. This suction system is perhaps the most apparent solution to the problem, but the degree of compression or reduction in size of the foam article is not sufficient to achieve the desired results when supplying orthopedic foam supports.
Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to supply an orthopedic support package wherein the foam orthopedic support may be reduced in volume to such an extent as to make its storage and presence for use by a patient readily available.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary means of packaging an orthopedic support which will provide a longer storage shelf life together with convenience in dispensing for supplying in healthcare facilities to orthopedic patients.
Another important object of the invention is to provide a method of forming a package for reducing the size of the orthopedic supports which may be relatively inexpensive and practical from the standpoint of providing reduced storage and space requirements to facilitate the supplying of orthopedic supports of the foam type to orthopedic patients.